Great Shadow Crusade
Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith 3: Descent to the Dark Side *Crado†''Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War 2: The Battle of Coruscant'' *Oss Wilum *High Lady Brezwalt III |commanders2=*Sidrona † *Defense Minister Netus *Admiral Orley VanicusTales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith 2: The Quest for the Sith *King Oron KiraTales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith 6: Jedi Assault *Odan-Urr† *Vodo-Siosk Baas† *Thon *Arca Jeth†''Tales of the Jedi 2: Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon, Part 2'' *Ulic Qel-Droma *Cay Qel-Droma† *Nomi SunriderTales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1 *Tott Doneeta *Dace Diath† *Qrrrl Toq† *Shoaneb Culu† *Oss WilumTales of the Jedi 4: The Saga of Nomi Sunrider, Part 2 *Sylvar |commanders3= |commanders4=}} The Great Shadow Crusade, also known as the Exar Kun War and the Great Sith War, was a galaxy-wide conflict which took place in 3996 BBY. One of the largest engagements of the Old Sith Wars, the Great Shadow Crusade saw the rise of Dark Side adherents, once again in opposition to the Jedi Order. The roots of the conflict traced back to the fall of Freedon Nadd from the Jedi way and his ascension to Dark Lord of the Sith. Eventually his dark influence was discovered on the planet Onderon and the ensuing battle saw the Jedi temporarily break Nadd's hold on the remote planet. This fight against the resurgent power of the old Sith Empire was a warning to the Jedi that something ominous was brewing. The influence of the Sith, however, again resurfaced during the Freedon Nadd Uprising, which managed to establish the means for the Krath to grow in power and influence. Using occult knowledge that they had gained from Nadd and his followers on Onderon, the Krath instituted a bloody coup in the Empress Teta system and began a series of campaigns aimed at Republic space. After several defeats at the hands of the Krath, Jedi Knight Ulic Qel-Droma advised the Jedi Order that he would infiltrate the Krath and destroy them from within. During his undercover mission, Ulic fell to the dark side and joined forces with another fallen Jedi-turned-Dark Jedi by the name of Exar Kun. Eventually, Kun was anointed the new Dark Lord of the Sith with Qel-Droma his apprentice, and together they ushered the galaxy into a new dark age. With their allies, Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma launched a series of deadly campaigns against the Republic, eventually making their way to the heart of the galaxy—Coruscant. Following this battle Kun and Qel-Droma launched an assault on Ossus, in an attempt to raid the planet of its Jedi artifacts. However, the battle of Ossus saw the defeat of the Brotherhood of the Sith, the capture of Ulic Qel-Droma, and the retreat of Kun to his base on Yavin 4. Broken and humbled, Qel-Droma agreed to lead the combined forces of the Republic Rim Fleet and the Jedi to Yavin 4, in an effort to defeat Exar Kun. Under the combined efforts of the Jedi, Kun was defeated and the war brought to an end. Origins Freedon Nadd and Onderon Following the Great Hyperspace War the galaxy experienced nearly a thousand years of relative peace. With only a few minor brushfire conflicts arising, including the Gank Massacres and the Third Jedi Schism, the galaxy enjoyed the lasting peace which came with the defeat of the Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow. As the galaxy continued to experience no further contact with the remnants of the Sith Empire, it enjoyed a time of new galactic exploration and expansion. However, six hundred years after the collapse of the Sith Empire, in 4400 BBY a young Jedi by the name of Freedon Nadd began his journey towards the dark side of the Force. Nadd's fall to the dark side would leave a lasting dark influence over the galactic timeline, and would usher in the return of the Sith Empire's beliefs—though this time it would be in a much more cunning and dangerous form than had been previously experienced. Having grown frustrated with his Jedi training and feeling that his talents were being held back, Nadd traveled to various planets which he knew were imbued with ancient Sith energy.Tales of the Jedi Companion Leaving behind the Jedi academy on Ossus, Nadd traveled deep into the heart of the old Sith Empire in search of further dark side knowledge. Eventually he followed the Force to the jungle moon of Yavin 4 where Naga Sadow had, six hundred years earlier, exiled himself and created a cloistered stronghold. Arriving at the primary temple, Nadd made his way to its depths, where he was confronted by the spirit of the long dead Sith Lord, Naga Sadow. Training under the former Dark Lord of the Sith, Nadd learned much and was eventually twisted completely towards the dark side of the Force. Believing that he had learned all he could from Naga Sadow, Nadd used his new-found powers to destroy his mentor's spirit, and left the jungle moon behind him. Proclaiming himself to be the new Dark Lord of the Sith, Nadd traveled to the remote world of Onderon, which was just outside of Republic space, and established himself as the king of Onderon. Nadd instituted martial law and ruled from the walled city of Iziz with an iron fist. A policy which Nadd instituted, and which would exasperate his successors for hundreds of years, was to banish all criminals outside the walls of Iziz to be killed by the savage beasts which lived there.The Dark Side Sourcebook Eventually, a number of these criminals banded together, learning to survive, and domesticated the wild beasts of Onderon. These criminals would eventually become known as the Beast Riders and would fight a guerrilla war against Nadd and his royal line. Freedon Nadd secretly taught his children the ways of the dark side, and made sure that his dark knowledge lived on throughout the Onderonian royalty, for the one day when it could be used against the Jedi. Even though Nadd died, his spirit lived on in his tomb deep below the city of Iziz, and it was there that he cunningly instructed his descendants in the dark arts. Over the next four hundred years the Beast Riders would continue their war against the city of Iziz and its royal rulers, with the conflict escalating to new heights in the years prior to 4000 BBY. Appearances *''Tales of the Jedi 2: Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon, Part 2'' *''Tales of the Jedi'' audio drama *''Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising'' *''Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith'' *''Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith'' audio drama *''Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War'' * *''Tales of the Jedi: Redemption'' }} Notes and references }} Category:Battles of the Great Shadow Crusade Category:Battles of the Old Sith Wars Category:Conflicts of the Core Worlds Category:Conflicts of the Deep Core Category:Conflicts of the Expansion Region Category:Conflicts of the Inner Rim Category:Conflicts of the Mid Rim Category:Conflicts of the Outer Rim Territories